The top 10 Northwest books were selected by Jeff Baker, The Oregonian’s book editor, after consultation with writers and critics. A book is eligible if it was published in 2013 and has a Northwest setting or was written by a resident of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, or British Columbia or has a Northwest publisher.

Jess Walter's first collection of short fiction, "We Live in Water," solidified his position as one of the best Northwest writers of his generation. From his base in Spokane, the former newspaper reporter has written a string of excellent novels and found mainstream success this year when the paperback edition of "Beautiful Ruins" had a long run on national bestseller lists.

In her review for The Oregonian, Nancy Rommelmann compared the characters in "We Live in Water" to those in "Short Cuts," the Robert Altman movie based on Raymond Carver's stories:

"Twenty years later, Jess Walter brings love and death back to the Northwest with the story collection "We Live in Water." New century, new troubles: If Carver's characters were made to deal with medflies and drive-by shootings, Walter's must navigate meth and a beached economy and the occasional zombie barista. If that last has you thinking you are in for some laughs, you are, though often the kind where you go 'ow ow ow' instead of 'ha ha ha.'

"What does not change are the ways people pretend the scratching at the door is not the destinies of their own making. Walter's lead characters, men all, seem particularly lashed to the wheel of misfortune, as though fate is saying, 'OK, bub, here's how it's going to be: you're going to tank.' And the men, waking from a year, a lifetime, of bad decisions, scan the horizon for a way out as their figurative boots fill with water."